Telecommunications are extremely important to businesses and individuals. People need to communicate with others at a distance for a variety of reasons and in a variety of ways. For example, people need to talk to each other, whether for personal reasons or business, and many people are wedded to their telephones—their connections to the world. At other times, people need to see each other, and can use videoconferencing to connect over a distance. People also sometimes need to contact emergency services, such as through 911 calls. Written communication may also occur, such as via e-mail or text messaging. People also need access to information apart from their communications with other people. For example, many people depend on the World Wide Web to access all kinds of important (and less-than-important) information.
As each new communication technology matures, and as more technologies are developed, users begin to see each technology as simply another application. And they depend less-and-less on the mode in which the communication is carried. For example, voice melds into data, as users desire to send and receive files and other materials during a discussion—or to work on a virtual whiteboard during a meeting. Also, with the ability to digitize voice, telephone calls become simply another form of data—albeit with a relatively high quality of service (QoS) requirement.
However, users still struggle to unify their communications. For example, a user may have a wired voice telephone connection at home, with the addition of a wired (e.g., DSL or cable) data connection. They may also use a cellular telephone for voice access, and an additional device such as a personal digital assistant (PDA) for data access. And they may have a different provider for each of these services, even though, to the user, they are just communications applications and not much more.
Some attempts have been made to simplify communications. For example, applications have been developed by which a telephone works as a cordless device on a landline connection when within range of a base station in the home, but as a wireless cellular telephone when out of range. Generally, however, such a system is limited in the services it may provide and the way in which it can provide them. For example, a user may be restricted to a particular plan or particular provider of telecommunication access. The user may be indifferent to the mode of access, however, as long as the access meets a certain minimal level of quality. The user may instead be more interested in having access to numerous and superior applications, and may desire the freedom to use a variety of communication modes.